COMMON MYTHS FOR BEGINNER GUITARISTS TO BE AWARE OF

Myth Number 1 - Spending a lot for a guitar will solve all your problems

One of the common myths that people just starting to play guitar fall into is the myth that paying a lot for a guitar will solve all your problems.  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  While it’s of course necessary to have a guitar that sounds decent to YOU (sounding good to other people helps too), it is isn’t completely necessary to spend thousands of dollars to achieve this goal.  People just starting to play guitar can expect to spend somewhere between 2-$400 dollars in order to be able to find a guitar that will work well for typical beginner goals. 

This being said and meant, there are a few things to watch out for in this department.  Do NOT spend less than $75 for a guitar.  The chances are you will NOT be happy with your choice, and your it will not sounds good at all, and you will never pick it up and, therefore, will never learn how to play it.  There are a lot of cheapo guitars out there trying to get beginners to fall into the trap of buying something because it is cheap.  Quality sound requires quality production and materials.  Spend some extra cash to get something that will last.

Myth Number 2 - You need a big amp to be a rock star

These days, buying a humungous amp is not necessary to learn guitar or even to be a professional.  It helps if you are planning on playing shows in big venues, but chances are, if you are beginner you will be playing open mics at least for a little while before you make it into the bigger venues.   The ‘big sound’ you are used to hearing from your favorite bands can be accomplished these days in garage band and other similar software for your computer.  These days even the professionals are using digital amp replicating software when recording and even playing out rather than dealing with the hassle of lugging around huge amplifiers.  Save yourself some money.  You don’t need it.  Be content with a small amplifier, or else just plug into your PC and turn up the reverb!

Myth Number 3 - You need a million bucks to sound like a million bucks

The digital revolution has completely completely changed how recording is done.  Some of the major studios still use analog equipment, but it is increasingly rare.  Digital sounds have a number of benefits that cannot be overlooked over their analog counterparts.  Perhaps the biggest perk is the low cost.  You can sound like a rock star for hundreds of dollars rather than tens of thousands of dollars these days.  And you can even outfit a modern studio with professional amenities for less than $10,000. 

While it used to be the case that you actually needed a million bucks to sound like a million bucks, these days this just is no longer the case.  Many platinum records have been recorded with a budget under 10K.  Take advantage of the times.  Do yourself a favor and avoid the trap of spending more than you have to sound great.  Focus more on developing your skill sets.  That is the rare and valuable commodity these days, not gear.

Myth Number 4 - Learning to good at guitar takes many years

While it is true that mastering any instrument takes thousands of hours of practice and some natural talent helps, no one needs twenty years to become a legendary rock God.  I recently had the pleasure of gigging with someone who had only been playing for four years.  He was ten times better than me at guitar, despite the fact that I had been playing much much longer.  The key is practice and dedication.  Most people’s guitars collect dust for 99.9% of the time their owners claim to have been ‘playing guitar.’  Don’t buy into the hype.  Instead, Devote yourself to learning the guitar based on your personal goals and work hard to find time to practice in order to meet those goals.  Dedication will win over experience any day.

If you are a beginner guitarist, you can learn the notes of the guitar at fret daddy's website.

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